Watters International RealtyFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Watters International Realty franchise requires a total initial investment of $49K – $201K, including a $15K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $49K – $201K
- 28th pct Real Estate
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 25th pct Real Estate
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 21st pct Real Estate
- Units
- 10
- 12th pct Real Estate
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Real Estate · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Real Estate avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $49K – $201K including a $15K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- WIR SYSTEMS INC.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chris Watters
- CEO experience
- 18 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3307 Northland Drive, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78731
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Watters International Realty franchisees operate real estate brokerage and sales operations, likely focusing on residential or commercial transactions. Daily activities include client acquisition, property listings, sales negotiations, transaction processing, and team management within their assigned market.
- CEO
- Chris Watters
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $24K | $166K |
| Total initial investment | $49K | $201K |
Source: Watters International Realty 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $49K – $201K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 11.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 11.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Real Estate averages
How Watters International Realty Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 10
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 40.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -18.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 10.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 30.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 12 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Watters International Realty presents HIGH RISK due to active litigation against the franchisor, undisclosed financial performance, minimal system size with unknown growth, and going concern status—making franchisee support and ROI validation critically uncertain.
Litigation (Item 3)
Four cases total: (1) PENDING - WIR Systems, Inc. v. Neumann Realty Corp. and Chad Neumann (Cause No. 1:25-CV-00009-RP, U.S. District Court Western District of Texas) - Breach of Contract, Breach of Non-Compete Agreement, seeking damages for unpaid royalties and unreported financials; (2) PENDING/RESOLVED - Highland Homes-Austin, LLC v. Luis Demetrio Urista and ATX WIR, LLC (Cause No. D-1-GN-23-008524, Travis County) - Commission dispute and Tortious Interference, dismissed with prejudice on July 17, 2024; (3) SETTLED - Marcianne Glennon v. Shirley Shaw, Chris Watters, WIR LLC, Kirk Edward Lewis (Cause No. D-1-GN-15-003842, Travis County) - Fraud and DTPA claims, settled August 30, 2016 for $75,000, no admission of liability; (4) SETTLED - Amanda Mayorga-Monsisvais and Michael Benavidez v. multiple parties including Chris Watters d/b/a WIR (Cause No. D-1-GN-21006159, Travis County) - Property subdivision compliance and fraud claims, settled May 8, 2023 for $35,000 to plaintiffs and $5,000 to sellers, no admission of liability.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 rating
- 01MINORPending breach of contract and non-compete lawsuit by franchisor suggests systemic operational/relationship issues
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation exposures including fraud allegations in real estate transactions and anti-trust settlement indicate governance and compliance concerns
- 03MINOROnly 10 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining system; no Item 19 financial performance disclosure prevents ROI validation
- 04MEDWide investment range ($49,350–$200,750) without disclosed average revenue/net income creates opacity around actual profitability and payback period
- 05MEDNo protected territory combined with 6–10% royalty fee on undisclosed revenues increases competitive risk and cash flow unpredictability
- 06HIGHGoing concern flag indicates franchisor financial instability, raising questions about support, training, and system viability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Population-based Awarded Area |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 5 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Four cases total: (1) PENDING - WIR Systems, Inc. v. Neumann Realty Corp. and Chad Neumann (Cause No. 1:25-CV-00009-RP, U.S. District Court Western District of Texas) - Breach of Contract, Breach of Non-Compete Agreement, seeking damages for unpaid royalties and unreported financials; (2) PENDING/RESOLVED - Highland Homes-Austin, LLC v. Luis Demetrio Urista and ATX WIR, LLC (Cause No. D-1-GN-23-008524, Travis County) - Commission dispute and Tortious Interference, dismissed with prejudice on July 17, 2024; (3) SETTLED - Marcianne Glennon v. Shirley Shaw, Chris Watters, WIR LLC, Kirk Edward Lewis (Cause No. D-1-GN-15-003842, Travis County) - Fraud and DTPA claims, settled August 30, 2016 for $75,000, no admission of liability; (4) SETTLED - Amanda Mayorga-Monsisvais and Michael Benavidez v. multiple parties including Chris Watters d/b/a WIR (Cause No. D-1-GN-21006159, Travis County) - Property subdivision compliance and fraud claims, settled May 8, 2023 for $35,000 to plaintiffs and $5,000 to sellers, no admission of liability.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 78 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Salesforce
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Salesforce
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Watters International Realty · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Watters International Realty franchise?
The total investment to open a Watters International Realty franchise ranges from $49K – $201K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Watters International Realty franchise owners earn?
Watters International Realty does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Watters International Realty's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Watters International Realty (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Watters International Realty franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Watters International Realty has 10 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Watters International Realty a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Watters International Realty as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.